MMA 2009 III

[JGP]

I think people picking Fedor over Lesnar are as silly as those who picked Evans over Machida.

Remember when fedor fought that huge retarded looking asian guy? He was manhandled easily, and if that man had had the least bit of wrestling skill and submission defense, fedor would have lost to him handily.

Lesnar can take the relatively tiny Fedor down at will. He may not be able to keep him there, but honestly, I would pick Mir over Fedor, so... my respect for him isn't off the charts.

You're funny, Will. I didn't pick Evans over Machida, so I guess I'm only kinda silly then. What a relief. I stand by my prediction. Lesnar hasn't fought a puncher, much less one with hands as heavy as Fedor's. But then, from what I've seen of the MMA threads, you certainly seem to be one who gravitates from one flavor of the week to the next. :P

[Stego]

Dude, you can think what you want, but I pick winners. Every damn time.

[JGP]

[chuckles]

We'll see.

[Liffguard]

I personally wouldn't be surprised either way. Lesnar has the strength, the size, the athleticism and the steadily expanding skillset to be a threat to anyone right now. As much as I hate the man's antics I respect his ability as a fighter (a lot like BJ Penn actually). On the other hand, Fedor has shown us time and time again that he can fight bigger, stronger opponents and win in dominating fashion. He's also shown us that even when he's being beaten, all it takes is one mistake for him to capitalise on it and turn the whole fight around. I'm not saying this to be wishy-washy. I honestly think that there are enough factors to make this potential fight too close to call.

That said, if I had to put money on it, I'd pick Fedor. A combination of my gut and my heart overruling my head.

[GSP]

I'm also in the Lesnar/Fedor fight would be hard to call, but if I had to I'll pick Fedor camp.

How can anybody not respect Fedor? The guys' a beast and DW can say what he want, but nobody in his entire stable could have done to Timmie what Fedor did. His comeback against an incredibly game Arlovski confirmed his heart, chin, and experience IMHO. He's not a walk over for any heavyweight, even a freak like Brock. Watching Brock backpeddle from Mir on the feet, I don't think he could handle the Fedor haymakers.

[Stego]

[chuckles]

We'll see.

It isn't a 'we'll see.' Go back and look at my picks. :D

[Horus Ex Machina]

Fedor is either full of shit or afraid of Lesnar.

I would lean towards the second. Fedor would be beaten handily by Lesnar.

Bullshit. Fedor turned down the UFC's offers before Brock was even in the UFC. Back when Couture was still champ. Pay attention, MMA didn't begin when Brock became champ.

Shit back then ppl were saying that he was afraid of Timmy.

Now I was saying that Brock would be for real back when most ppl were still calling him a pro-wrestler. I said he'd be a monster from day 1 before the K1 show even happened. How quickly everyone's opinions change. Should the UFC groove the playing field for Kimbo to win TUF the same will happen there. But this isn't about that.

More fighters are pissed with the deals that Zuffa's been forcing on them than not. The problem is that most of them don't have the clout to stand up to DW's machine and the one's on top can't get out of thier contracts (cough- Anderson Silva). Now alot of DW backers will say "well why don't they form a union?" Simple answer, most fighters got dick in the bank and even the fighters that do make good money don't make enough to support the fighters on the low end of the totem pole, in short without a realistic threat of a strike, why even bother getting on DW's bad side by joining? That's what this EA "war" is all about. One of the biggest sources of revenue for player's unions in pro sports is video game revenue. That's because, unlike in the UFC, the unions and the athletes control thier image licensing.

So if Fedor isn't in a position where he has to sign his life away to the UFC banner then more power to him. He's made his money and fought most of the best in his era. Do I wanna see him fight Lesnar. For sure. But I want even more for someone to finally take a stand. Couture? Punked out. Thanks for playing. Went back with his tail tucked. I'll have those cojones now. BJ? Went back but at least won a court case against them, so respect there.

So if Lesnar/Fedor happens, good. If it don't, it is what it is.

[Analu]

What makes Fedor so extraordinary is his mental makeup and how he responds during the scramble and in other wild, unpredictable moments that happen in every fight (ie. when someone gets knocked down). He has the innate ability to read the situation, and do exactly what the situation calls for to give him the advantage. He's one of the very few fighters who can correcty read and react to those split second situations that decide fights. Watch how he reacted when Randleman caught him in that crazy suplex that would've killed most people; how he instinctively rolled with it and immediately reversed position on the Monster. Watch how he knew exactly what to do when he knocked Sylvia down to position himself for the choke. Couture had Sylvia in almost the exact same situation and couldn't finish him in 5 rounds. Fedor did it in like 20 seconds.

And this may sound a little gay, but he has excellent hips and the sambo background to take advantage of that and easily toss much bigger fighters than him to the ground: Semmy Schilt, HMC, Mark Hunt, Coleman, Herring, the list goes on and on.

He's not that technical a fighter, and most guys would break their hands if they threw punches the way Fedor throws them. He's just a killer.

I also love the look on the faces of Fedor and Aleks when they fight. They could be waiting in line to buy some borscht, from the expression (or lack of) on their faces. Anyone else remember when Aleks fought James Thompson? Thompson was into his whole "gong and dash" phase and was meanmugging and literally shaking with fury, and Aleks looked like he just woke up from a nap. One of the funniest fights I've ever seen. Even Bas was cracking up doing the commentary.

And Brock's a giant cock.

[Oorag]

Tito and Vitor are back in the UFC. Like I said before, the UFC is looking pretty unstoppable these days. Vitor is going to replace Henderson to fight Franklin. Thankfully the UFC heard the moans about that matchup. Tito will face Mark Coleman. If Fantasia is any indication, I predict that Coleman will repeatedly bash Tito in the face with his spiked tail until Tito unhinges his maw and bites Coleman in the neck.

Oh, and don't forget that Sengoku is this Sunday. I'll be cheering for Omigawa, the Cinderella Judoka.

[Ser Barry]

I am still stuck on the fact that the riders in the Tour de France were called pussies. Just, just, just.......

[Liffguard]

I am still stuck on the fact that the riders in the Tour de France were called pussies. Just, just, just.......

Yeah, but remember that endurance athletes aren't heavily muscled, so they're not Real Men.

[Horus Ex Machina]

Either Anderson Silva wrote the quotes in this article himself, or the person who translated it did so word for word.

I love how Gi or No-GI becomes Kimono or No-Kimono.

Once again Anderson Silva's greatness is re-established as he conquers yet another adversary,... English.

Gotta do a womens MMA blurb here. Kinda disappointed that we won't see Erin Toughill on the Gina Carano-Cyborg card but apparently she's been moved to the status of "emergency replacement". Something tells me that either Cyborg or Carano are gonna back out of this card for one reason or another and that the women's MMA superfight will be pushed back while Strikeforce tries to get that fight on CBS. I actually find myself hoping that it doesn't happen on Showtime bc it would be a detriment to female fighters not to have this thing mainstreamed.

Loved seeing Gina on the Pepsi ad as the modern day Bruce Lee. Hoping to see Strikeforce look to build up a 125 lb women's division and finally bring Megumi Fujii and Yuka Tsuji into the cage to fight. Perhaps the deal with the Akano team will go towards getting that done.

As for the Tito signing. Interesting that his first opponent is going to be Coleman but I understand the logic of wanting tuneup opponent. He was competitive with both of the last two LHW champs. He could have won a decision over Rashad and held his own more-or-less against a Lyoto Machida who stopped the other three opponents around that fight. Say what you like about Tito, but even DW had to know that he was a commodity that he couldn't realistically let go without a fight.

That said, the Strikeforce business model doesn't currently lend itself towards overextending themselves prematurely. This is why their future is bright. They have good avenues of exposure which can only build their profile over time especially if they can keep Carano successfully on the public forefront. However, was Tito the type of fighter with a followint that they should have gone all-out for? Or perhaps they felt better to stay out of the way of the UFC and the walking mouthpiece DW. Realistically if they are going to go the path that they're going then perhaps it would be adviseable for them to go the way Bellator has gone and have a tournament. If Bellator keeps their momentum they might just pass Strikeforce as the no. 2 promotion. Especially if they can get to the big-boy ESPN.

After Coleman I can see the UFC lining up Tito for a fight against the loser of Rampage and Rashad. Now Tito and Rampage are buddies, so that might not be the easiest fight to make, but I can see a Rashad-Tito rematch being a no-brainer.

That's all from me. Long live diamond-cooze DW.

[GSP]

So, in the end Fedor goes to Strikeforce. The talk seems to be that Fedor is signed for three more fights to his deal with M-1. Perhaps once those obligations have ceased, Fedor can walk away from those goons and make a UFC deal that can possibly happen.

[Ken Stone]

So, in the end Fedor goes to Strikeforce. The talk seems to be that Fedor is signed for three more fights to his deal with M-1. Perhaps once those obligations have ceased, Fedor can walk away from those goons and make a UFC deal that can possibly happen.

Great, just what I wanted to see. Fedor stomping the crap out of Brett Rodgers. Hurray. I guess we can start counting down the days until Strikeforce goes out of business.

I don't believe that it is a matter of M1 controlling Fedor. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to find that the relationship works the other way around, and Fedor is actually the founder and boss of M1. He's a smart dude.

[Horus Ex Machina]

Great, just what I wanted to see. Fedor stomping the crap out of Brett Rodgers. Hurray. I guess we can start counting down the days until Strikeforce goes out of business.

I don't believe that it is a matter of M1 controlling Fedor. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to find that the relationship works the other way around, and Fedor is actually the founder and boss of M1. He's a smart dude.

It's more or less a partnership between the two. M1 is the managing team and promoter for Fedor's Red Devil camp which was basically started when Fedor moved from the Russian Top Team. He's the big dog there, but not only that, these other fighters are members of his Sambo team and guys who he has trained and trained with for years. No way he's ever leaving it. It's basically his team, his management. It all works for him. Truth be told the reason why Sambo was such a deal breaker for him is the support that some of his fellow Red Devil teammates get from being able to compete with him. Plus Sambo is a national Russian sport.

Strikeforce has been in business for a long time and really has never given the impression of overextending themselves. Throughout all of the partnerships with EXC to Affliction, they've managed to stay in the black in part by allowing those that they co-promote with to do all of the heavy lifting. Even now they never got really excited about making a go for Tito, and even on alot of middle players that EXC might have signed just because, they've declined. I've talked to a few fighters who've competed in bigger shows like WEC and they've told me that Strikeforce has a huge waiting list of fighters trying to get in. Strikeforce isn't calling anybody right now and isn't going to spend money they don't have. Strikeforce isn't public and they don't have any other businesses to run. If they screw this up, they can't just go back to gambling or t-shirts. If Strikeforce folds, then everything that Scott Coker has built for 15 some odd years is gone. I had high hopes for Affliction, but in the end they were just trying to market themselves and perhaps get a better sponsorship deal from the UFC.

[Oorag]

Damn, Omigawa got to the finals and lost to an alternate! Oh well, he had a good run.

Fedor signing with Strikeforce sucks, but at least Strikeforce will present him opponents on a higher level than Hong Man Choi.

[White Walker Texas Ranger]

BJ's training with Todd Marinovich's dad? I'm not sure exactly what, but there's something hilarious about that.

[Ken Stone]

Wow, look at us. Barely able to contain our excitement for UFC 101. :P

I won't be watching it but thought I would pick anyway.

BJ Penn v KenFlo - I'll be shocked if KenFlo can pull this off. I'm still not sold on him as a top LW, even though he's beaten a lot of guys. Mostly I hope BJ can pull this off because a BJ v Sanchez fight would be epic.

Andersen Silva v Forrest Griffin - We've seen Forrest TKO'd by a flurry of blows a couple times in his career. Not hard to imagine how this one will end. I can't see him leg-kicking his way to a decision against Silva.

Amir v Henricks - I don't know much about Henricks so I'll go with Amir. Pretty much a pick'um for me.

Grove v Almedia - I don't know much about Almedia so it's Grove by default, I guess.

Neer v Peligrino - This should be a hell of a fight with the true winner being the fans. How was that for cheesy? Seriously though both of these dudes are tough as hell. I don't see either one getting stopped so it will probably go to 29-28 decision.

[benderschweiz]

BJ Penn v KenFlo - BJ is far to good for Florini and anyone else at 155. This one ends in the third by TKO. The Diego fight should be fun though.

Andersen Silva v Forrest Griffin - Forrest will bang and get TKOed.

Amir v Henricks - Hendricks will have Amir on his back all night for a decision. Suddenly wins over CB aren't very impressive.

Grove v Almedia - Grove wins the striking battles and uses his range for a decision.

Neer v Peligrino - Could go either way.

[Oorag]

I'm totally pumped for 101. Two #1 ranked fighters matched against tough opponents. How can you not be excited for at least Silva vs. Griffin?

B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian - Gotta go with BJ on this one, but Florian will not go easily and I'm sure he'll have a good game plan.

Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin - Silva will be ready for the takedowns. It will probably be hairy, but I think he'll get the TKO.

Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks - He's proven himself against wrestlers, and I have to imagine the UFC thinks he can take Hendricks.

Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida - Grove will sprawl and brawl with his range.

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Josh Neer - Going with Neer, but not very solidly.

Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley - Picking Riley on the hopes that he'll kick the drunken decision factory Nelson out of the UFC.

Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard - Haven't seen Howard, but I like McCory.

Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara - Sakara is a gimme.

Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer - Been a while since I've seen these guys, but I still remember Riddle's nasty KO.

George Sotiropoulos vs. George Roop - George is dangerous, and a move to LW will probably suit his unimpressive physique at WW.

Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort - Don't recall either from the WEC. No idea.